Old Hickory Nessmuk Questions

Nuke_Spook

Nuke_Spook

Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
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Okay, sometimes you just have to admit that your ignorant and ask stupid questions, so here goes. I am looking at an Old Hickory Skinner to Nessmuk project and I am trying to figure out the best way to remove the scales so I can add a patina to the blade. Do you pry the scales off and if you do can you reuse the rivets. Do you need a rivet gun and new rivets? I have looked at all the Nessmuk projects I can find but there is no comment about this issue. I am one of those people who likes to have a clear idea of how to accomplish something and what is needed to do so before I begin so I really appreciate the information.

Thanks,
 
Nuke_Spook said:
Okay, sometimes you just have to admit that your ignorant and ask stupid questions, so here goes. I am looking at an Old Hickory Skinner to Nessmuk project and I am trying to figure out the best way to remove the scales so I can add a patina to the blade. Do you pry the scales off and if you do can you reuse the rivets. Do you need a rivet gun and new rivets? I have looked at all the Nessmuk projects I can find but there is no comment about this issue. I am one of those people who likes to have a clear idea of how to accomplish something and what is needed to do so before I begin so I really appreciate the information.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

You have no reason to remove the rivets. A patina can be applied with the handles in place- removing them is just going to introduce corrosion in a place hard to clean.
 
I had read in another forum about laying the blade flat in a pan of heated vinegar to add a patina to help protect from corrosion. Here is a quote; not sure about the etiquette of posting a link to another forum.
Re: A couple of Old Hickory mods I did last week

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Another neat trick is to to give the blade an instant patina before you put the handles on.
Get the blade up to the stage that it is ready for the handles - shaped, holes drilled etc.

Warm up some cheap vinegar in a pan that is big enough to allow the blade to lie down flat.
Wipe the blade down with acetone (a strong alcohol will work as well).
Do not touch the actual blade after it has been wiped down - handle it by the tang.
Now lay the blade in the hot vinegar.
Increase the heat until you see little bubbles fizzing up around the blade.
Turn the blade a couple of times - grab it by the tang when doing this.
Give it a couple of minutes on each side until the whole blade has gone a uniform black/grey.
Rinse under water and wipe with a clean cloth.
You can repeat this until the desired color has been obtained.
This gives you an even, durable, "instant" patina and costs very little.
Remove the patina from the tang with sand paper before fitting the handles, to ensure that the glue will adhere well.

If you want to be a little different, you can mark the blade with a sharpie marker a few minutes before you put it in the vinegar and the whole blade will discolor except for the area covered by the sharpie.
When you wipe the blade down later with acetone, the area under the sharpie ink will come up shiny.
Dirk
__________________
Ye Original Ol’ Bstd (CLB O’ TRU BSTDS)
Click to expand...

I found this "other" forum & post doing a google search as I was trying to gather as much information as possible before starting, though I did see a couple of familiar faces.

Comments?
 
I've replaced the scales on several. You can drill through the rivets. You'll need new ones to replace them obviously, but if you're careful you can reuse the old scales. That said, I've never reused them.
 
i prefer a lemon oil juice wipedown on the blade, or any other acidic fruit.

i have hear that mustard works wonders too.

no real need to remove the scales...and i would agree wtih an earlier post-you don't want any kind of corrosion under teh scales...
 
So a wipe down with Lemon Juice will put a good patina on a carbon steel blade like the heated vinegar will? I will be trying to protect the blade from rust as well as improve the appearance.

Thanks,
 
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